President Murmu takes sortie in Rafale fighter jet

President Droupadi Murmu flew a Rafale fighter jet at Ambala Air Force Station, receiving a ceremonial welcome. The sortie follows her earlier Sukhoi-30 MKI flight, highlighting the IAF’s capabilities and Rafale jets’ role in recent anti-terror operations

Ambala: President Droupadi Murmu undertook a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Air Force Station in Haryana’s Ambala on Wednesday.

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh also flew in a sperate aircraft from the same airbase. Before getting on to the Rafale jet, the President wore a G-suit. urmu, who was holding a helmet in her hand and wearing sun glasses, also posed for pictures with the pilot.

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Shortly before the aircraft took off at 11.27 am, the President waved from inside the jet.

The President was also accorded a ceremonial guard of honour after she arrived at the Air Force Station this morning.

Rafale jets were used during Operation Sindoor, launched by India in response to the April 22 dastardly Pahalgam terror attack.

In April 2023, Murmu, the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces has undertaken a sortie in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station, Assam.

Former presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had undertaken sorties in Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Air Force Station, Lohegaon near Pune on June 8, 2006 and November 25, 2009, respectively.

Manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, Rafale fighter aircraft were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2020 at the Air Force Station, Ambala.

The first five Rafale aircraft, which had arrived from France on July 27, 2020, were inducted in 17 Squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’.

The Rafale jets were used in Operation Sindoor, which was launched on May 7 to destroy several terror infrastructures in territories controlled by Pakistan. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.